Avalanche Warning Issued for Cooke City Area

The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center is continuing a backcountry avalanche warning for the mountains around Cooke City, north of Yellowstone National Park.

The avalanche danger is rated high on all slopes after heavy snow and winds gusting up to 50 mph on Wednesday and Thursday overloaded a weak snowpack.

The center says natural and human-triggered slides were likely on Friday and people should avoid avalanche terrain and runout zones.

In the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone, snow fell on a weak and unstable snowpack. Since Monday, the Big Sky and Yellowstone Club ski patrols have triggered many avalanches. The avalanche danger for Friday is listed as considerable on all slopes in the Lionhead area.